These Stars Above
by nArCiSsTiC wOnDeR
Summary: Artemis and Holly. Mud-Man and Elf. A couple. But, love is like a glass heart- it's beautiful until it shatters on the floor.. will Minerva and Trouble ruin the possibility? Constructive criticism is love! R
1. Prologue

_**I don't own Artemis Fowl (or any of it's characters, because if I did, Artemis and Holly would be together by now), or 'Good Left Undone' by Rise Against.**_

_**--**_

_**In fields where nothing grew but weeds,  
I found a flower at my feet,  
bending there in my direction…**_

Artemis Fowl was, quite frankly, sick of puberty.

It was corroding his very thoughts, twisting his very mind, so that no simple ponder was safe from it.

Nothing, actually, was safe from it when it related to females in any manner whatsoever.

Especially Holly Short, the elfin commander from Section 8, who was, might he add, exceptionally pretty.

_Blast. There it is again._

He had been friends with her for technically six years, though it was actually three, and now.. he often wondered…

_**I wrapped a hand around its stem,  
and pulled until the roots gave in,  
finding there what I've**__** been missing,  
and I know...  
So I tell myself, I tell myself, it's wrong…  
there's a point we pass from which we can't return,  
I felt the cold rain of the coming storm…**_

He knew, by all counts, the very thought was morbidly wrong. The age difference. The different species. The very fact they were complete opposites. The whole thing was preposterous.

_**All because of y**__**ou,  
I haven't slept in so long.  
When I do I dream,  
of drowning in the ocean…  
longing for the shore,  
where I can lay my head down…**_

He hadn't slept for months, and the rare, fleeting rest he gained was full of her face, her smile, her voice, her crystal-clear bell-like laughter. He drowned in his thirst for her, longing for a place where it was free of her presence, where he could think clearly and not in this daze.

_**I'll follow your voice,  
all you have to do is,  
shout it out!**_

He would follow her anywhere, if she asked. He would follow her into the depths of the Earth, he would follow her to the outskirts of the universe, he would follow her anywhere, anytime.

If she asked, that is.

_**Inside my hands these petals browned,  
dried up fallen to the ground,  
b**__**ut it was already too late now…  
I pushed my fingers through the earth,  
returned this flower to the dirt,  
so it could live, I walked away now…  
but I know...**_

It was too late to forget her now. He never completely forgot her, even with the mind-wipe the centaur administered upon him. When he slept, his dreams were haunted by phantom words of her voice, but when he had nightmares, they saved him.

_**Not a day goes by when I don't feel this burn,  
there's a point we pass from which we can't return,  
I felt the cold rain of the coming storm...  
**_

There was scarcely a moment he did not feel the pain of her presence being somewhere else- it burned his mind, made it almost impossible to think straight. It was altogether quite an irritating experience, not being able to think clearly.

_**All because of you,  
I haven't slept in so long,  
when I do I dream,  
of drowning in the ocean,  
longing for the shore,  
where I can lay my head down,  
I'll follow your voice,  
all you **__**have to do is ,  
shout it out!  
All because of you.  
All because of you…**_

He never expected the sudden thumping of his heart as she took his head in his hands- she handled his skull so tenderly, even though she was simply fitting her eye to his head. It made him warm to know that he was a part of her, and vice versa- often, as he laid in bed, he would close his eyes and stroke the one Holly gave him. It was better than sleeping, as far as he cared.

_**All because of you,  
I haven't slept in so long**__**.  
When I do I dream,  
of drowning in the ocean,  
longing for the shore,  
where I can lay my head down,  
inside these arms of yours…  
All because of you,  
I believe in angels,  
not the kind with wings,  
no, not the kind with halos,  
the kind that bring you home,  
Where love becomes a strange place,  
I'll follow your voice,  
all you have to do is,  
SHOUT IT OUT!**_

Ever since that moment, he had believed in angels. Not the ridiculous cherubs and clothe swathed, golden haired, winged woman- no, he believed in the warmth of her hand, the radiance of her smile, the laughter that sounded like a bell on a cool, dew covered morning.

Artemis weighed the smooth, cool stone that he held in his hand as he leant back against a rock, judging the angle, power and distance needed to skip the stone.

He wasn't dressed in a suit for once- instead, he clothed himself in loose fitting jeans, a tank-top and skate shoes. There was no need for the salt water to ruin his suits, as he sat there in the rocky crop of the rock-pools, watching the waves swirl back and forth calmly. He often came here at sunset, to feel at peace with the world and its habitants.

He was aware of every living creature nearby, thanks to the blue streams of magic that he had commandeered in the time tunnel, and he threw the rock, watching as it gave six perfect skips, and then disappeared into the sun-reflected water.

He had taken to working out with Butler lately- he was quite sick of being defenseless and always relying on someone else to knock the offender out and his muscles were developing pleasingly.

Artemis closed his ice blue eyes, and sat still, feeling the life around him, as he became the wind that whipped his raven black hair, and at the same time he felt his hair being moved. It was a beautifully strange notion.

Suddenly, a figure materialized next to him. He could feel the figure too, absently smiling at the sudden warmth the magic gave.

'Artemis, it's quite strange to see you without your suit,' said an amused, feminine voice, that was as harmonious as a flute.

_Speak of the devil, and the devil shall appear._

'Holly,' greeted Artemis, who kept his eyes closed, 'and it's only due to the cotton damaging nature of salt water.'

She laughed, and that's when he opened his eyes.

He was as stunned as ever by her elfin features, her sharp nose and curved lips, her deep brown eyes. His eyes quickly traced her curves, highlighted by the tight fitting combat suit he never saw her with out.

'What are you looking at? Puberty still got you?' She said teasingly, though Artemis didn't blush- Puberty, in fact, had hit him in one go while he slept one night. He woke up to find his jaw square, his Adam's Apple complete, and hair in more places than one.

'Actually, if you must know, I'm considering designing a smart-wafer system not entirely unlike the one that is used in your suit, which, might I add, looks splendid on you.'

His face remained impassive, though Holly looked a little surprised, and her cheeks turned a slight shade of red.

'Really?' her tone was skeptical, though she looked just a little bit pleased.

'Yes.'

'Uh, thank you?'

'Anytime,' Artemis returned automatically, and picked up a spiral shell covered in vibrant blood reds and oranges, emblazoned in patterns like fire.

He sat cross legged, examining it for a terse second. She stayed standing, watching him in interest. She had never really noticed how fine the Mud Boy's features were- his smooth blue eyes and narrow, defined nose, his long, pale, elegant fingers.

She frowned, and snapped herself back to attention.

'For you,' said Artemis suddenly, passing her the shell and standing up.

They both only realized then how much taller he was- now she came to his chest, and they looked the same age, instead of her being a merely short bigger sister.

She flushed bright red this time, and he smiled.

Artemis's smiles were fairly rare, the way his thin, porcelain features would curve upwards, how his blue eyes would sparkle like a normal person's would.

Then, he gathered all his courage, and placed his hands around her waist, and he leant down.

The sun crept behind the ocean as their lips met in a fiery, though gentle embrace that they sank into, lips moving tenderly.

They were there for an hour, in each-other's arms, until the first star burst into view.

That night, an elf and human found their purpose of existence, and approved very much of what it was.


	2. Misheard

Disclaimer: Oh please, if I were Eoin Colfer, Artemis would have confessed his love to Holly by now, and Minerva would be nothing more than a minor character.

* * *

It had been a week after he kissed her on that beach.

It was quite a nice kiss, but then he stopped calling, after a day or so.

And as any fairy knows, when the male stops calling, he's either dead, or just not that into you.

Holly sat on her bed, absentmindedly fiddling with the communication ring that Artemis had created, watching the sparkles her lamp light made on the walls, as she stared out of her window, into the smog of the Lower Elements.

Holly Short strongly resented the city. It was so… _Mud-man_ like.

Her wireless phone vibrated on the desk where her files laid, and some of the white pages fell to the cotton carpet.

Her fingers left the ring as she crossed the room and eagerly answered it.

'_Hey Holly_,' came a whinny of greeting.

She inwardly berated herself- if Artemis called, it would be on the ring, not on her cell- it operated on a totally different frequency than that of a mud-man's.

'Hey Foaly, what's up?'

'_Just wondering if you'd like to test one of my latest wing designs. Everyone else is out helping the demons adjust to their simian life-style,' _he snickered, and Holly knew how he thought that his technology would have blown the poor blood thirsty creatures away.

She looked out the window again, opening it and recoiling in disgust at the smell of smoke.

'_Holly? You there?'_

She had forgotten the centaur for a second. 'Yeah, sorry Foaly. I'd love to. I was going to go up to the surface anyway.'

--

An hour later, Holly was in the sky, breathing the fresh, clear air of Ireland.

She skimmed the water with her fingers, her hard face softening as the dolphins leapt to greet her. They were such friendly creatures.

The mansion came into view, and she said goodbye in their native tongue as she veered upwards, barrelling into the clouds.

Her eyes closed and a mischievous grin wound her way onto her face as she turned off her wings and plummeted to the sea.

She really should have worn her whole uniform and not just her helmet, but the force grasping at her skin was worth it.

_Time to test these wings out._

Foaly claimed they connected to the brain by means of skin contact. Holly hadn't understood the specifics, but she understood that she could supposedly do things automatically, without the joystick.

Her sonix sponge earpieces sealed around her eardrums as the sea sped towards her at alarming speeds, and then suddenly she was veering upwards in a spiral, looping the loop.

She let out a whoop of joy, immediately felt embarrassed, and was then glad her radio wasn't on.

She shielded herself, and flew lazily towards the mansion, looking for the window made of dark blue and green lead light Artemis had made himself supposedly.

He had failed to mention however, that essentially all the windows were leadlight and had some blue somewhere.

She grumbled, muttered, and brought up the house map on her helmet display.

A few seconds later, she was veering towards the left side of the building, for the thirteenth window. Hopefully Butler was occupied with the twins, or reading _Pride and Prejudice._

_Figures. He's on the devil's side AND he has the thirteenth room._

She softly landed on the gargoyle that jutted magnificently from the balcony, and turned on her vibration sensor.

It was a clever little eaves-dropping device that Foaly had created a year after they had been sucked into that curst time tunnel. It operated by translating vibrations made by sources of warmth- i.e, human, animal or fairy bodies.

She hovered a bit closer to the wall, and pressed her ear to it.

She didn't turn on her radio of course. Foaly was on a need-to-know basis, and he didn't need to know.

Turning the dial on her helmet, she received a rush of static, a dog howling, the sound of children snoring, and then…

'_That was wonderful Artemis.'_

_Bingo._

_Wait, who is that?!_

'_Thank you Minerva. Not to boast, but I had only a single practice on Saturday.'_

And thus, Holly immediately went into shock.

It had been a Saturday that he had kissed her.

Had she been practice for that horrid human girl with the blonde hair and willowy figure that she yearned for?

Suddenly Holly felt so inadequate. She was shorter, and fatter, and _ugly_. Her mother called it curvaceous, but Holly always felt _big._ And she only had auburn curls, not beautiful poker straight hair that did that flippy thing she could never manage…

A tear ran down her face, before she suddenly felt angry. She was going to punch his face in for the second time in the six years she had known him, and then demand answers.

She pulled off her helmet, and pressed the small sapphire on the ring, twisted it into the palm and placed it in the classic phone position.

If a human had seen her in the instant she had unshielded to take off her helmet, she looked all the world like a teenager on a pretend phone. But no-one had seen her- only a bird that flew off as soon as she materialized.

She received a dial tone, and could hear it from outside. Evidently the humans had neared the window- she could now hear their voices easily.

'My apologies Minerva. My cell is vibrating, and it may be my mother. She likes to check up on me, ever since the time tunnel.'

'Of course,' she said sweetly.

She could just imagine them standing closely together, her hand on his arm, and his sigh of disappointment as he floated away to flick open his phone. He had somehow managed to combine the ring into the cell, and it made talking to her a lot easier… when he actually talked to her.

'Mud Boy, we need to talk, right now. I just flew onto your porch. I'm right outside.' Her voice was hard, but her newly made fists trembled.

There was a slight pause, and she saw the silhouette on the curtain nod, as if he was taking in information. She wasn't surprised- and she had a suspicion that he hadn't shown any if he was either.

'_Of course, Mother. Do you want me to have dinner for you when you arrive?_'

'Clever Artemis. I don't want dinner, if you get my drift.'

It seemed he did.

'_Minerva, I'm terribly sorry, but my parents are having a family friend over, and would like my help. Would it be inconvenient…?'_

She felt immense satisfaction, as his voice became crackly as he spoke to the girl, and she imagined with glee the look of disappointment that would cross her porcelain skin. And then;

_I wish I had skin like that. My skin's olive brown…_

'_Of course not. I understand completely. My chauffer should be outside. It was wonderful to see you again,' _Holly heard her answer back faintly, and a few minutes later she saw a perfectly disgruntled sixteen year old climb into a sleek black ride and drive off.

The curtains flew open, after her hearing picked up the noise of a lock clicking, and a handsome young man with mismatching eyes and raven black hair leant against the cool glass sliding doors, before straightening himself, and placing an elegant hand on the handles.

She was surprised to see his top button undone, and his tie loose, and then immediately disgusted by the possibilities brought to mind.

He placed his cell back the pockets of his suit pants, and pulled open the doors with a magnificent flourish, and Holly noticed muscles that had never been there before.

A gust of cool wind came from the direction of the sunset, and he smiled.

Artemis never smiled much, and it's an amazing thing to watch a vampire turn into a human.

A smile lit up on her own face, before she remembered she was meant to be angry.

She un-shielded, and drew herself to her full height.

Which, admittedly, was only to his shoulders, but her mismatched eyes looked cold and fierce.

'Holly,' he said softly, bending down to kiss her. He received a punch in the face, and to her immense vindictive satisfaction, he stumbled back and held his nose.

Moving it to the left and right, she heard a sickening clicking noise.

To the man's credit, he kept his smile and civility, though it was more confused than happy.

'May I ask why I was denied the pleasure?' His voice was slightly muffled, but otherwise confused and sharp.

'Firstly, why was she here, secondly, why haven't you called?'

'To answer the former, she was here to discuss with me a latest piece in which I had written for the violin and grand piano, which was inspired by you,' -his face grew very soft, before hardening slightly again- 'and to answer the latter, My parents have been.. overly protective, and I only got back my cell phone this Saturday. As you well know, I do not like talking on the phone in the presence of guests.'

And then he inhaled quietly, having said it all in one go.

Holly opened her mouth, eager to find the flaws, before she took in the worried young man in front of her.

'So.. you weren't…' she motioned with her hands to get the point across.

Artemis chuckled, and shook his head.

'So.. what did you mean by "I only had a single practice on Saturday?"'

'Well, I wrote the piece a week earlier, and I was preoccupied with the twins. I managed to find a bit of peace after you left.'

He watched her with one cold blue eye, and one brown one.

'Artemis…' she started, and turned a pleasing shade of red barely visible on her russet brown skin.

'Yes, Holly?'

'What did.. Saturday mean to you?'

Now she was the one watching him.

'The world. Why?'

She broke into a smile, and kissed his broken nose, and it healed as blue sparks ran down her lips and danced across his skin.

'Why do you ask?'

'It's just nice to know.'

'Thankyou, by the way... would you mind if I played the piece for you?'

His eyes were eager, but soft, and even if she didn't want to, she couldn't have refused.

I suppose so,' she said gruffly, as he wrapped his pale, elegant hand around hers and drew her to an oak loveseat.

She sat down, and fiddled with her hands as he played with a tape player, and then stood up, drawing a mahogany violin from a case next to the lounge, and held it to his chin.

And then, the tape started, and the Mud Boy began to play to the sounds he had already recorded for this moment.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I was asked to continue this, so... anyway, this completely disregards 'The Time Paradox', which is the sixth Artemis Fowl book coming soon.

I have also been told I romanticise Artemis... I apologize, but I try to keep him in character as much as I can for someone in love. I hope I got Holly right though...

All I can say is that Trouble has given Holly a room because her house was old, and Minerva drops in regularly.. both love their respective persons, and make life difficult. Also, I am hoping this will be a nice, long, interesting fan fiction with the usual escapades thrown into the mix. I am sorry to say the only other song-themed chapter will be the ending one... I will be updating as much as possible, which will probably be every one to two weeks. Please stay tuned...

Holly was wearing loosely fitting cargo jeans and a scarlet tank top, no shoes, for anyone wondering. I see Holly with the same style of hair as Alice Cullen from the Twilight series, and I suggest looking for the Cullen family shot, which contains the actor who plays her.


	3. Trouble makes trouble

**Disclaimer: Artemis would be mine.**

* * *

Beneath the World, in Haven City, renowned Commander, Holly Short lay on her bed, with the biggest idiotic grin she had ever produced in her life.

Her auburn skin turned up into wrinkles as she smiled again, and sat up as her stomach growled.

Evidently, she had been lying down and dreaming about her love far too long.

She glided out the door, as her friend, Trouble Kelp, came into the apartment, and locked the door behind him.

'Hello Commander,' he said with a wry twist of his lips as he hung his jacket on the hook.

When Holly had returned, she had returned to find her house re-owned by the government.

Trouble had offered her a room in his apartment until the LEP sorted out the mess that was her finances.

Holly had agreed- after all, he was one of her closest friends and commanding officers- _whoops, _she thought dryly, _not since I got a desk job._

'Hey Trubs,' she grinned, as she sorted through the various moulding vegetables in the fridge.

She heard his groan, and then; 'I told you not to call me that. I told Grub not to call me that.'

'Uh-uh-uh! Major, remember? I'm equal to you.' She pointed a carrot she had just drawn from the vegetable drawer in the fridge at him, and grinned.

'Hhm,' he said reluctantly, as he moved to stand next to her.

Suddenly she felt very awkward- she could feel his breath on her neck, and she didn't like it.

'Hey, Trubs, want to get some take-a-way?' she said hastily, moving away to wash off the carrot, and she saw his frustration.

'Holly, where were you last night?'

'Surface,' she answered, trying to sound vague as possible.

'Bull. You were at Fowl's mansion.'

'Do you have evidence,' she asked coldly.

'No,' he admitted.

'Exactly.'

'Holly, please,' he said, blue eyes flashing. They weren't blue like Artemis's, but ice cold and pale. 'Are you two together?'

'If we are, I don't see it as your business,' she said frostily, chopping up her carrot with brutal aim.

His face went blank. Then he grabbed her wrist.

'I don't like it, Holly. I don't like it at all.' He said, his brows furrowing.

'He's a different species, he's evil-'

She snatched his hand from his grip.

'He is _not _evil, and I'm sure he would be a better elf than you could ever be,' she hissed.

His eyes went slightly wider, as she stalked out of the apartment, and the door slammed shut behind her.

&-&

_It was the most beautiful piece of music that had ever graced her ears._

_She shut her eyes after thirty seconds, letting the music wash over her._

_It was unbearably sweet, but also sad- it told the tale of lost love, war and heartache._

_After a few minutes, she could feel his gaze on her face._

'_Stop looking at me,' she half laughed._

'_You're crying.'_

_She lifted her hands to her eye, and sure enough, traitor tears slipped over her cheeks._

'_Tears of happiness,' she brokenly retorted, still lost in the echo of his lullaby._

_She felt the cushion beneath her shift as the last notes echoed through her skull, and his weight came to sit next to her._

_His gaze on her never faltered- if he looked away, he feared that the dream would come to an end._

'_Why are your eyes still closed?' he asked curiously, wiping them away with a pale finger that became white next to her coffee coloured skin. He examined the beads of water for a second, briefly wondering if the myth of magical phoenix tears actually elf tears…_

_He wouldn't be surprised if such a perfect creature had magical properties._

_She laughed quietly, as a pleasant scarlet coloured her cheeks._

'_Do I have to tell you?'_

'_Of course.'_

'_Well.. I'm afraid if I open my eyes, I'll wake up.'_

_She looked so childishly innocent and embarrassed._

_Artemis smiled, broke into laughter._

_She opened her eyes, wincing._

'_Did the dream end?'_

_She frowned, and punched his arm playfully._

'_Don't scare me like that Mud-Boy! I thought someone had kidnapped you for a few seconds there.'_

_Her expression softened, as she added, 'but it didn't end.'_

_He uncharacteristically wrapped an arm around her waist and bent down to press his lips to her throat._

'_What are you doing?' She couldn't help but giggle- if someone were to walk in, they would assume it was a vampire about to bite her neck._

_He looked up to her deep brown eyes, opened his mouth-_

'_Waaaah!'_

_A crackly shriek emitted from a walkie-talkie device on the mantelpiece._

_Artemis sighed, and opened the door._

_Holly shielded, and followed him down the majestic hall._

_He took a sharp right into a door decorated with teddy bears, and opened it._

_Inside was two children- one asleep, the other wailing, wiping his eyes with a chubby fist._

_Twins._

'_Miles, what's wrong?' His tone changed to a soft, brotherly comfort. Holly tried not to make sounds of disbelief and approvement._

'_I had a bad dream,' the young boy sniffed, and Artemis took him into his arms._

'_Hey, it's okay. Remember what I told you?'_

_She had never heard Artemis use 'hey' once._

_The kid sniffed, then cleared his throat. 'Dreams are manifestations of subconscious fears or desires.'_

_Artemis chuckled. 'Exactly. I proved when I was younger that monsters don't exist.'_

'_Really?'_

_Artemis was lying- the boy had not seen trolls, had he?_

'_Yes. But, you know what does exist?'_

'_What?'_

'_Angels.'_

'_Really, Arty?'_

'_Yes, little brother. But not those ridiculous, clothe swathed ones with gold hair and porcelain skin.'_

_The little boy smiled, as Artemis lowered him into the bed and pulled the deep blue covers back over him._

'_Good night, Miles.'_

'_Night, Arty,' the little boy yawned, falling asleep as he turned over, having forgotten all about his dreams._

_Artemis felt the slightest of disturbances as he passed her, and heard a quiet chuckle._

'"_Arty"?'_

_He let his eyelids settle into a glare directed in front of him, assuming she could see it._

_She could, of course- she was a Major in the LEP. She had seen less obvious smirks on the faces of her comrades._

'_Smartest children I've seen yet,' she commented mischievously, un-shielding as he closed his bedroom door behind her._

_The sounds of soft breathing came from the walkie-talkie she now realized to be a baby monitor on the mantel piece._

'_They're related to me. Of course they're brilliant.'_

_She punched him half-heartedly._

'_Narcissist,' she scolded._

_His only reply was a small upturning of his lips as he opened the sliding doors, and a gust of wind came, whipping his tousled black hair around his head._

_His mismatched eyes looked absent._

_She came to stand next to him._

'_Whatcha thinking?'_

'_Lots of clever little things.'_

'…_Like..?'_

'_Oh, a limerick or two, a poem, and a piece of music. Why do you ask?'_

_She deadpanned._

'_You're too smart for your own good, Fowl,' she said bluntly._

_He chuckled._

'_We all have things about us..'_

'_Oh? What do I have?'_

'_For starters..' his arms encircled her waist from behind, and his mouth pressed against her hair. She could barely hear him._

'_You're smart. A tactical genius. And you're far too attractive for your own good.'_

_She turned a bright red._

'_You.. you're serious?'_

'_Of course. I've never lied, have I?'_

_A slight, sceptical pause followed._

'_On second thought, don't respond to that.' He quietly chuckled in her ear._

_**Author's Note:** _Thankyou for the reviews. I promise there will be no H/T or A/M, I hate those! For those who didn't understand, the italics was the flashback continuation of chapter 2.


End file.
